Psalm 29 The voice of the Lord in a storm
The (antiphon; v.1) -Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the
splendor of His holiness. This week’s Psalm is a hymn of praise to the King
of creation whose majesty and power are trumpeted by the thunderbolts of the
rainstorm – as the storm rose above the Mediterranean swept across the Lebanon
range and rolled over the wilds of Kadesh. The key verse is the believer’s
response we are to worship the Lord “in the splendor of His holiness.”
his
wonderful song is simply titled A Psalm of David. In poetic beauty it describes
the strength of a storm and understands it as the voice and power God. In so
doing it repeats the name of the LORD eighteen times and uses the phrase “the
voice of the LORD” seven times. “This psalm has no other elements. It is pure
praise. It does not call upon us to do anything because the psalm itself is
doing the only thing it is concerned about. It is praising God.” (James
Montgomery Boice)
The
command to worship the LORD.
1.
(1) A word to the mighty ones.
Give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones: David speaks to the mighty ones of this earth, and warns them to look away from themselves and unto the LORD God of Israel. Though they may consider themselves to be mighty ones, and be so considered by others, they still should recognize their obligation to the LORD God.
This
psalm is notable in its emphasis on the name, “The LORD” (Yahweh), using
it some 18 times in these 11 verses. This is the name taken by the covenant God
of Israel, rendered by the Jews with the replacement word LORD out of reverence
to the holy name.
As
God says in Isaiah 42:8: I am the LORD, that is My name. It is perhaps
best to think of Yahweh as representing the Triune God. We may say it this way:
There
is one God, Creator of all and the covenant God of Israel – His name is Yahweh.
There are three persons who claim to be Yahweh: the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. In some way, therefore, there is One God in Three Persons.
“This
is the famous tetragrammaton, or name of four letters, which we write Jehovah,
Yehovah, Yehveh, Yeveh, Jhuh, Javah, etc. The letters are Y H V H. The Jews
never pronounce it, and the true pronunciation is utterly unknown.” (Clarke,
commentary on Isaiah)
Some
take these mighty ones to be those regarded as great on the earth; others take
them as angelic beings. “The phrase is used elsewhere to denote ‘heavenly
beings’ or angels (cf. Genesis 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Psalms 82:6; 89:6).
In this context the phrase may be used as a technical term for the divine
assembly of heavenly beings who surround the throne of God.”
Give unto the LORD glory and
strength: David called upon these mighty ones of the earth
to recognize that the LORD has a glory and strength that far exceeds their own.
When
they give unto the LORD these things, they are not giving or attributing things
to Him that He did not have before. They are recognizing things as they really
are, because God is full of glory and strength.[2]
[1] The Baptism of Jesus, copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
[3] Collect for the likeness of Christ, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
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